Month: January 2011

These are the things MDOT looks at:

Bicycling mode share (2008-2003, recent to old rates): 0.3%, 0.2%, 0.3%, 0.2%, 0.1%, 0.2%

Hey it looks like things are getting better, till you look at the National average of 0.5%, that’s right Maryland is below average but MDOT does not want to look at that.

Maryland offers an extensive network of on- and off-road bicycle
facilities, as well as hundreds of miles of sidewalks. This network not
only facilitates mobility, but it also improves public health and access to
transit and retail centers. To demonstrate its commitment to bicycle and
pedestrian mobility, MDOT has committed $118.5 million in the FY2010-
FY2015 CTP. Maryland has also developed a coordinated trail initiative
to promote trails as a viable transportation option through Maryland
Trails: A Greener Way To Go. MDOT also supports Maryland’s Smart
Green & Growing initiative, a coordinated multi-agency effort to help
Maryland grow in a more compact and sustainable fashion. Other MDOT
efforts include promoting dense, mixed-use development near rail transit
stations, known as Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), and promoting
“complete streets” that serve vehicles, transit, pedestrians, and bicycles
throughout corridors, making a more multimodal and coordinated
investment in transportation.

Hey everyone look how well Maryland is supporting biking on roads with lots of fast traffic! Don’t get me wrong, supporting bicycling everywhere is nice, it’s the bicycling “only” on State roads that bugs me. But at least the localities has committed $23.4 million in trails that they have to pay $11.7 out of there own pocket for. So State roads that are only 20% of all roads in Maryland get 80% of the bike/ped funding. That does not sound right to me. But the real proof of the pudding is not how much is spent but on the progress made, which we will look at later.

KEY INITIATIVES
MDOT: Maintain leadership in the Maryland Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory
Committee, which provides guidance to State agencies on matters directly
relating to bicyclists and pedestrians, including safety.

Like not supporting our No Parking in Bike Lanes, now that’s leadership. [/sarcasm] You know something along the lines of MDOT being responsive to cyclists concerns would be better.

SHA: Continue driver safety programs to improve public understanding
of the rules of the road for all users—bicyclists, pedestrians and
motorists—through training, education, and enforcement.

The Highway Safety Office has been more attentive to our concerns lately but there are still some issues like not involving citizens in the Street Smart campaign, which really boils down to: pedestrains don’t j-walk or engage in distracted walking. We need stronger messages that also address the driver side errors, at least something better then “Hey drivers there are idiot pedestrains out there.”

Why Did Performance Change?
• Developed a new bicycle safety awareness campaign targeting
motorists
• Conducted the StreetSmart awareness and enforcement
campaign
• Conducted road safety audits in jurisdictions with a high
number of pedestrian crashes
• Received $1.74 million in “Safe Routes to School” funds,
totaling $9.25 million to date
• Installed accessible pedestrian signals at more than 400
intersections on state highways during FY2009
• Invested $5.3 million in Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
improvements in FY2009
• Illegal street-racing during CY2008 resulted in a crash that
killed 8 on-lookers; this single incident caused an increase in
pedestrian fatalities above the previous year

What Are Future Performance
Strategies?
• Add wayfinding signage and pavement markings to a network
of 1,700 miles of State highways identified on the State Bicycle
Map
• Develop a new public education concept for sharing the road
that incorporates bicycle and pedestrian awareness
• Identify state-of-the-practice design techniques to improve
bicycle and pedestrian safety
• Increase pedestrian safety enforcement during critical times of
day (e.g., Tuesday–Friday, 3–8 p.m.)
• Promote the Bicycle Level of Comfort planning “calculator”
to assess bicycle impacts from road improvements and
opportunities to improve bicycle access
• Expand the StreetSmart program into Baltimore
• Focus enforcement and education funds for areas with a
history of high pedestrian injuries and fatalities
• Perform an inventory of shoulder widths, outside lane widths,
and trails or multi-use paths, and map locations of these
facilities with appropriate bicycle compatibility
• Expand intersections with pedestrian “count down” signals,
safety signage, and ADA features ($31.9 million for BRAC
Intersections near Fort Meade in the FY2010-FY2015 CTP)

Note the signage and wayfaring only on State roads, while many of these roads are not on the local bike maps as State roads are not always the best roads to bike on. PLEASE WORK WITH LOCAL BICYCLING ADVOCATES to mark the best routes no mater if they are State roads or not.

By expanding access to transportation options—transit, ridesharing,
telecommuting, biking, walking, and intercity passenger rail—Maryland’s
transportation agencies contribute to reducing the use of fossil fuels and
lowering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. A few key examples of MDOT’s
efforts include expanding bicycle and pedestrian access, implementing
programs to lower single-occupancy vehicle usage (e.g., Commuter Choice
Maryland), and transitioning to more “green” transit vehicles. MDOT also
supports efforts to coordinate land use at the local level and promotes Smart
Growth and Transit-Oriented Development (TOD). These efforts create
opportunities to preserve and improve the environment, while strengthening
Maryland’s economy at the same time. Maryland has made great
environmental progress, with passage of the Clean Cars Act, which adopts
cleaner car standards beginning with the 2011 model year, and 2009’s
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act, which commits to reducing GHG emissions
25% from 2006 levels by 2020. MDOT continues to engage with partner
agencies to improve air quality and reduce the State’s carbon footprint by
conducting analyses in support of the Maryland Climate Action Plan.

Kind of funny in that there are no bike/ped projects funded by CMAQ and bikes are not allowed on MARC even off peek hours.

MDOT’s services also contribute to goals beyond
mobility such as improving air quality and supporting
active lifestyles. Agencies are exploring opportunities
to link transportation improvements with community
revitalization, economic development, Smart Growth, and
environmental restoration efforts to support Maryland’s
Smart, Green & Growing initiative. For example, Maryland
has taken steps to improve both the safety of and access
to bicycling facilities. These efforts range from developing
a Statewide trail initiative, constructing dedicated
bicycle lanes, and equipping 100% of transit buses to
accommodate bicycles.

And adopting policies that make it harder for the localities to get Federal funding.

IS THIS PROGRESS?

There is no doubt this is the most frustrating aspect of our 20 year plan’s objective measurements. 3% improvement over 20 years with a target bike friendly grade of D. The first thing wrong is SHA nailed this in the first year so we basically have all State roads are as good as they need to be for bicycling and that is just wrong. Grade D is just what it sound like, not very good at encouraging bicycle use. And designating bikeable shoulders as bike lanes is totally lost on most cyclists, it’s something but it really isn’t new accommodations like it sounds.

We need grade C or better targets, we need State roads bike friendly in urban areas, measure that, please. In order to meet current goals rural roads are easier to make bike friendly so there is a lot of stress there we really need to get some funding and attention to where it will do the most good and reach the most cyclists.

SHA: Safety & Security
Performance Measure: Number and rate of bicycle and pedestrian fatalities and injuries on all Maryland roads
Definition: Number of bicyclists and pedestrians killed / injured in traffic-related crashes in a calendar year

If SHA did indeed report the pedestrian fatality rate AND compared it to the average National pedestrian fatality rate I am sure heads would roll. But even without that, reporting the same old same old not much progress you would think at some point over 7 years someone would be held to the fire a bit.
Continue reading “What gets measured gets done (sort of) 2010 Attainment report”

State employee describes MLK dangers
from Getting There by Michael Dresser

Georgia Corso, a 12-year state employee who works at the State Center complex in Baltimore, wrote Getting There to describe the problems she sees with  the pedestrian crossing of Martin Luther King Boulevard between there and Maryland General Hospital.

The crossing was the site of a fatal incident Tuesday in which a bus struck a man in a crosswalk. Police attributed the death to pedestrian error. Getting There passes on Corso’s email in a lightly edited version.

The  center is bordered by Howard Street on the east, Eutaw Street on the west, and the heavily-trafficked six-lane divided highway of Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd to the south. On the north side of MLK Blvd are the 5th Regiment Armory and the Maryland State Office Complex, comprised of three buildings full of offices. To the south are the Maryland General Hospital complex, the Baltimore School for the Arts, and a myriad of restaurants and shops. There is one crossing for pedestrians across MLK Blvd and I would venture that easily 750 people use that particular crosswalk everyday.

The problems
It takes forever to get across the street; the signal is not coordinated with the ones at Eutaw Street and Howard Street. At rush hour, pedestrians are crossing through stopped traffic that is gridlocked. The light signal changes green for pedestrians every two minutes, according to Mike Harrington of Baltimore City’s Transit and Traffic, although I have not yet had the stopwatch to time it. But when you are standing on the sidewalk waiting for your chance to cross, it seems much longer than that indeed.

The signal does not respond to the Pedestrian Crossing Button, and you can punch on that button forever to no avail. Additionally drivers exhibit a flagrant disregard for the red signals in both directions and pedestrians cannot depend on the signal to stop traffic. Since there is not a street intersection affiliated with the red light, just a pedestrian crosswalk, drivers feel that stopping for the red light is optional, and it makes no sense to stop for the possibility of a pedestrian. Sometimes drivers are running the light because the existing signals are too high in the air for drivers near the crosswalk to see the light. The crosswalk painting on the street has faded and worn.

People who have to cross are usually on a 30 minute lunch break, or are trying to get to work on time and cannot afford to stand on one side of the street waiting for the long two minute series to finally change, particularly when it does not seem to really make a difference to the passing cars. They take their chances and cross halfway, standing on the narrow median, under four feet wide, waiting for the other side to clear and then to make a break. I call it playing Frogger. Oftentimes, pedestrians will get caught on the median, with traffic rushing dangerously past on both sides. It was only a matter of time.

I started making calls back in October. I was told the signal had already been examined and to try calling 311. That did nothing. I kept calling. Finally, Mike Harrington came out to the site and when I spoke with him afterwards, he said he made the green signal for pedestrians longer, giving them more time to cross. Of all the issues I had with the signal that was not one of them. I called then again on December 16, 2010, and told him I was getting a petition together and I was going to send it to the Mayor’s office. I was terrified of the idea of watching someone get hit and having to live with that specter the rest of my life. Plus I truly care about the people I work with, not to mention my own safety. I sent out an email  to everyone in the Laboratories Administration and started gathering signatures. In talking with my co-workers, many told me that they had also called about the intersection and there was no action taken.

Finally, yesterday, January 4th at approximately 3 p.m., a man was attempting to cross and was hit by a (bus). A coworker in the Department of General Services saw it and told our security guard that people lifted the man and carried him into the Linden Deli, and that he watched as workers from Maryland General Hospital worked to resuscitate the man. When I heard about the incident yesterday afternoon from Department of General Services Police officers, I called Transit and Traffic and told them that I was the woman who had spoken to them, requested a camera, requested other safety issues, additional lower traffic signals, and was getting a petition together.

And that now there had been a fatality, just as I feared. I could not get any information from the Baltimore City Police, naturally, but there were eight patrol cars on the scene when I left work at 5:15 p.m. and there were city police officers from the Crash Unit on hand, the crossing was taped off, traffic on the west bound side was detoured, and officers were bustling about still. It is a horrible thing that someone has to die, a family has to lose a loved one, before something is done about a situation that is well-known for many years to hundreds of people.

Getting There has contacted the city and is looking forward to hearing its response to Corso’s concerns and any plans it might have for addressing pedestrian safety issues there.

Continue reading “How to have a high pedestrain fatality rate”